My Instagram and Facebook project for May...31 Days of Lake Life.
Rather than engage in political bantering on social media, I have decided to look at the brighter
side of life. I just cannot brawl on Facebook over issues that make me crazy! Instead, I found solace (in
May) in taking photos from the lake where I live. Here are some of the pictures.
Lake Life pics were so successful that I decided to start a new project in June: Tiny, Beautiful
Things (which also is the title of a fantastic book by Cheryl Strayed). Stay tuned (and/or tune into my
Facebook or Instagram pages—PamAnderson Poet or @prandersonpoet) for my daily posts.

Yoga has been a life changer for me. The three things that I hoped to accomplish when I began to practice in 2015—improved balance, greater flexibility, more strength—became a reality. When I began a daily practice in 2017, I gained a deeper connection to my physical practice. In 2022, I started to incorporate Kundalini Yoga, which has been a surprisingly wonderful addition.

Friends who wanted (but were unable) to attend the Poetry Box LIVE for Kids Zoom poetry reading will be glad to know that it was recorded.
SO...here is the YouTube video of my reading (from The Galloping Garbage Truck (Kelsay Books)) with poet/photographer Debbie Hall.

I have a Social Media Guru who helps me navigate these unfamiliar waters. Without her, I would barely know how to begin to promote my poems and books. With her, I reach people who are interested in my work. She is amazing; she is my daughter: R.E. Anderson (Lysa).

In the early spring in Ohio, days can go from sunny and warmish (50s and 60s) to snowy to rain and thunderstorms (and the occasional tornado). Crisp days are great for hiking (few, if any, bugs); pale green spiky leaves pushing through branches; flowering trees; daffodils and green, green grasses.

Every third Saturday at 1 pm (via Zoom) a little group of folks who love fantasy novels meets to discuss that month’s chosen fantasy book. LitYoungstown hosts this gathering, and I absolutely love it.

I have always found poets to be welcoming and generous. Poets want to share thoughts and ideas, and they also approach life with their eyes and ears wide open...looking to gain new understandings and greater insights. To be a part of this intimate group was an honor.

After spending the winter in Charlotte, North Carolina, my husband and I returned home in early April.

Home is Northeast Ohio. It’s where most of our family members and friends live. It’s where we spent decades working before retiring about 5 years ago. It’s the location of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Summit County Metro Parks, where we spend many hours hiking each year. It’s comfortable. It’s easy to navigate. It’s familiar.

On Saturday, April 9 at 5 pm EST, I will be giving a Zoom poetry reading with poet/photographer Debbie Hall. This reading was planned and is being hosted by The Poetry Box and its publisher/editor Shawn Aveningo-Sanders.

The remarkable thing—beyond the writing, great characters, plotlines, subtexts, foreshadowing, etc.—is that I now can (and do) read in a variety of ways. When I am walking, cooking, cleaning...I love an audio book that is beautifully narrated (as Game of Thrones is).

On Saturday, April 9 at 5 pm EST, I will be Zoom reading (with poet/photographer Debbie Hall) from my book of poems for children: The Galloping Garbage Truck (Kelsay Books). Please join me/us!

At the end of my yoga class today (One Love Yoga in Kent, Ohio), our teacher (Anne) said “get ready for
good things in your life.”
What a great reminder.

The 16th annual Ohioana Book Festival is returning (in a virtual format) from April 29 through May 1--and I'm going to be a part of it!

Check out the information in the link and watch for more information soon...

“Some time in the middle of her 20+ years as Morning Edition host on NPR affiliates, Donna Apidone grasped the true purpose of her job: Connect with people and guide them through their routine. Talk to one person at a time. Create an environment that combines information and encouragement.”

That is the opening paragraph on the website of veteran radio host, interviewer, author, and publicspeaker Donna Apidone.

If you haven’t seen it already, I regularly post to my Instagram account. So if you find the weekly blog posts are not enough, be sure to check out, follow, and share my Instagram page or any of my other social media accounts to keep readers up to date on everything that inspires me and my writing.

This week, I will let Donna Apidone’s words speak for me.

Her article on the impact of my husband’s heart attack that resulted in the writing of Widow Maker, is touching and thoughtful.

Read her word on “next avenue’s” online source.

We live on a lake. A lake that sometimes floods over our back deck and into his Man Cave. At one time, he lived in a house whose basement constantly flooded. The day after we were married our hot water tank broke. At our house, it’s all water...all the time.

I do not remember when I began to read. What I do remember is that our house was filled with books, and
someone was always reading. In fact, a great way to escape the “burden” of household chores was to tell
my mother that I/we was/were at a pivotal point in a book...nearing the end of a chapter, nearing the end,
at an exciting part.......

I just finished reading Into the Forest: A Holocaust Story of Survival, Triumph, and Love by Rebecca Frankel (St. Martin’s Press; ISBN-10: 1250267641). More accurately, I just finished listening to the unabridged audio version of this book, narrated by Natalie Pela.

In our own time of worldwide pandemic and accompanying deaths and fear, this book—with the death of Shakespeare's son, Hamnet—may not be for everyone. Hamnet’s death is wonderfully written but tragic, and the difficult aftermath and deep sorrow felt by his mother, Agnes, is very sad. Still, I found that the writing was so exquisite that I was/am glad to have read it. The passage about how the Bubonic Plague came to Shakespeare's family is a lengthy example of the slow unfolding of information that is a hallmark of Maggie O'Farrell's writing.